1986-1990 PhD Molecular Genetics, University of East Anglia 1983-1986 BSc Microbiology, University of Wales, Swansea Career

2014 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society 2013 Elected Member of EMBO 2010 Elected Fellow of the Society of Biology 2010 - Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer, University of Exeter 2005-2010 Head of School, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter 1999- Professor of Molecular Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, UK 1998-1999 Reader in Molecular Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, UK 1993-1998 Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, UK 1990-1993 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Purdue University, USA

Research in my laboratory is aimed at investigating the biology of plant disease. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms by which fungal pathogens can infect living host plants, invade their tissues, and cause disease. The model interaction we study is that between the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and cultivated rice, Oryza sativa. Ongoing projects in the laboratory include investigating the role of cell cycle control in appressorium morphogenesis, the role of infection-associated autophagy, the mechanism of septin-mediated plant infection and the mechanism of appressorium turgor generation.

We are also functionally characterizing a range of fungal effectors that are secreted by the fungus during rice tissue colonization and determining how these are secreted and delivered into plant cells. We aim to define in detail the nature of the host-pathogen interface during rice blast disease.

Research in the laboratory embraces cell biology, genetics, comparative and evolutionary genomics and molecular plant pathology. We also cary out projects of direct relevance to rice growers, including a major effort to produce durably resistant rice cultivars based on defining and characterising the population of effectors within the rice blast fungus population and using pathotyping as a guide to collaborators who use marker-assisted breeding to introgress rice blast resistance genes into high yielding rice cultivars.

Work in the laboratory is funded by the European Research Council, the Halpin Trust, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Marie Curie Porgrammes, Syngenta, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the BBSRC-DFID-SCPRID programme, and the BBSRC.

Klionsky DJ, Abdelmohsen K, Abe A, Abedin MJ, Abeliovich H, Acevedo Arozena A, Adachi H, Adams CM, Adams PD, Adeli K, et al (2016). Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition). Autophagy, 12(1), 1-222. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 329 Martin-Urdiroz M, Oses-Ruiz M, Ryder LS, Talbot NJ (2016). Investigating the biology of plant infection by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 90, 61-68. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Cairns TC, Studholme DJ, Talbot NJ, Haynes K (2016). New and Improved Techniques for the Study of Pathogenic Fungi. Trends in Microbiology, 24(1), 35-50. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 9 Cairns TC, Studholme DJ, Talbot NJ, Haynes K (2016). New and Improved Techniques for the Study of Pathogenic Fungi. Trends Microbiol, 24(1), 35-50. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 9 Yue X, Que Y, Xu L, Deng S, Peng Y, Talbot NJ, Wang Z (2016). ZNF1 Encodes a Putative C2H2 Zinc-Finger Protein Essential for Appressorium Differentiation by the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Mol Plant Microbe Interact, 29(1), 22-35. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Kilaru S, Schuster M, Studholme D, Soanes D, Lin C, Talbot NJ, Steinberg G (2015). A codon-optimized green fluorescent protein for live cell imaging in Zymoseptoria tritici. Fungal Genet Biol, 79, 125-131. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 3 Kilaru S, Schuster M, Latz M, Das Gupta S, Steinberg N, Fones H, Gurr SJ, Talbot NJ, Steinberg G (2015). A gene locus for targeted ectopic gene integration in Zymoseptoria tritici. Fungal Genet Biol, 79, 118-124. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Cairns TC, Sidhu YS, Chaudhari YK, Talbot NJ, Studholme DJ, Haynes K (2015). Construction and high-throughput phenotypic screening ofZymoseptoria tritici over-expression strains. Fungal Genet Biol, 79, 110-117. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 2 Sidhu YS, Cairns TC, Chaudhari YK, Usher J, Talbot NJ, Studholme DJ, Csukai M, Haynes K (2015). Exploitation of sulfonylurea resistance marker and non-homologous end joining mutants for functional analysis in Zymoseptoria tritici. Fungal Genet Biol, 79, 102-109. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 4 Wu J, Liu Y, Lv W, Yue X, Que Y, Yang N, Zhang Z, Ma Z, Talbot NJ, Wang Z, et al (2015). FgRIC8 is involved in regulating vegetative growth, conidiation, deoxynivalenol production and virulence in Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 83, 92-102. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 1 Talbot NJ (2015). Plant Immunity: a Little Help from Fungal Friends. Curr Biol, 25(22), R1074-R1076. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 12 Penn TJ, Wood ME, Soanes DM, Csukai M, Corran AJ, Talbot NJ (2015). Protein kinase C is essential for viability of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Molecular Microbiology, 98(3), 403-419. Abstract. Article has an altmetric score of 2 Penn TJ, Wood ME, Soanes DM, Csukai M, Corran AJ, Talbot NJ (2015). Protein kinase C is essential for viability of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Mol Microbiol, 98(3), 403-419. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 2 Ryder LS, Talbot NJ (2015). Regulation of appressorium development in pathogenic fungi. Curr Opin Plant Biol, 26, 8-13. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 4 Gupta YK, Dagdas YF, Martinez-Rocha AL, Kershaw MJ, Littlejohn GR, Ryder LS, Sklenar J, Menke F, Talbot NJ (2015). Septin-Dependent Assembly of the Exocyst is Essential for Plant Infection by Magnaporthe oryzae. Plant Cell, 27(11), 3277-3289. Abstract. Author URL. Full text. Article has an altmetric score of 10 Talbot NJ (2015). Taming a wild beast: Developing molecular tools and new methods to understand the biology of Zymoseptoria tritici. Fungal Genet Biol, 79, 193-195. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 29 Li Y, Yue X, Que Y, Yan X, Ma Z, Talbot NJ, Wang Z (2014). Characterisation of four LIM protein-encoding genes involved in infection-related development and pathogenicity by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. PLoS One, 9(2). Abstract. Author URL. bin Yusof MT, Kershaw MJ, Soanes DM, Talbot NJ (2014). FAR1 and FAR2 regulate the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. PLoS One, 9(6). Abstract. Author URL. Perez-Nadales E, Nogueira MF, Baldin C, Castanheira S, El Ghalid M, Grund E, Lengeler K, Marchegiani E, Mehrotra PV, Moretti M, et al (2014). Fungal model systems and the elucidation of pathogenicity determinants. Fungal Genet Biol, 70, 42-67. Abstract. Author URL. Article has an altmetric score of 24 Bielska E, Schuster M, Roger Y, Berepiki A, Soanes DM, Talbot NJ, Steinberg G (2014). Hook is an adapter that coordinates kinesin-3 and dynein cargo attachment on early endosomes. J Cell Biol, 204(6), 989-1007. Abstract. Author URL.